Anyway I was planning on keeping footstrap pads but am thinking i have gone this far so will probably replace them too. Any suggestions?

And then I got to wondering if i should do the entire board in traction pad like an sup but not sure the effect of the mud on the grippyness of the traction pad. Anyone care to estimate the grippyness of traction pad to regular non-stick?

My experience with removing pads, is that it is a 1 hour nuisance.
If you're not a pateint type, then don't remove them, but if you are, a
huge waffle pad sounds like a good choice. If you feel the need for
more grip, than what you got with redeck and salt, I have used washed
sand (this is a commercial commodity) you can buy on-line, or probably
locally. It's not patrticularly pretty, but if you lay down a thick spray
coat of epoxy, put down the sand while wet, and spray it in again, you'll
have a finish that will tear the hide off your feet and knees for several
years.

(My prefered method of redecking is to spray in salt with epoxy, and then
flush the salt when the epoxy is dry, which produces a very pretty and
plenty gritty deck for me)

Have you directly compared both approaches? I have, and find that the deep grooves in waffle pads provide much more traction than... with none of the abrasion of ... grit and its much shallower "terrain". There's also no reason to remove the old pads, and one can always add grit to pads.

I've never understood why so many sailors and shapes and factories try so hard to avoid pads. IMO, they are a win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win/win -- count 'em -- solution with no downside that I've ever encountered.

Bare foot comfort
Softer ride in chop
(Human) joint protection
Hull protection
No need to remove existing pads
Ease of application
No fumes
Appearance, in many cases, with many colors available
Maybe even cost, unless one keeps resin around anyway
Reduced mess
Less abrasion-induced blood loss = less chumming for sharks
Fewer joint injuries caused by hydroplaning off the deck
Scraps for protecting rails, nose, and tail from impact
Increased board life span = lower repair and replacement costs
Nobody's going to steal it because insecure people think it's geeky
Supports a Hood River business

Have you directly compared both approaches? I have, and find that the deep grooves in waffle pads provide much more traction than... with none of the abrasion of ... grit and its much shallower "terrain". There's also no reason to remove the old pads, and one can always add grit to pads.

compared.. like some of my foot on a pad and some on the deck, with slimy clay like mud ?

nah

I usually just start to type an answer, and let my fingers move along the keyboard. I try to keep things simple and not say in 8 paragraphs what a sentence would do.

lets not be so presumptions to think you are the only person on the forum to have stood on a windsurf board_________________K4 fins
4Boards....May the fours be with you

Just curious about spraying with a two-part 5/1 epoxy. Epoxy seems a bit thick from a viscosity standpoint to work well in a spray gun, and then there's also the matter of its catalytic nature. In the case of the latter, I thinking that you really need to be done with the spraying well before things start to gel. To extend working time, do you use a slow cure hardener instead of the normal hardener? Also, any problem in dealing with the aerated epoxy overspray, and how do you deal with it?

Lastly, I'm assuming that you clean up the spray gun and all its components with acetone. Any useful tips to achieve the best cleaning result?

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